I needed some quick gift ideas, so, inspired by Julia's framed gifts (check out her blog here), I came up with this idea. Very basically, it involves a Walmart frame, SU! papers and inks, and Cuttlebug letter dies. Oh, and a touch of Liquid Pearls.
I made 2 more, but those will have to wait till after Christmas to be posted, I'm thinking!
Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope your holiday season is wonderful!
These are what my piano students are getting for Christmas this year. At first I wanted to come up with something specifically musical, but in the end, I went for plain old wintery. All supplies are SU! except for the Santa paper piecing pattern (try saying that 10 times quickly!) found online (just do a search to find a myriad of them), and the glitter glue (Icicles). I used last year's retired Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, and Kiwi Kiss CS, as well as Ballet Blue (I think!) and Whisper White. I used Chocolate Chip for the base. Tearing and chalking the edges of the Whisper White CS to make snow easy and effective! The largest circle punch fits the candy holders perfectly. It all came together pretty quickly. To make punching through all those layers a little easier, I first punched the snowman (after completely assembling and chalking the edges), then glued him down and punched again, lining it up carefully.
I added some details with markers (eyes, mouth, lines on carrot nose), fringed the scarf with my scissors, and added Icicles for snowflakes and to the tip of the snowman's toque. 
As always, you can click on any picture to view a larger version.
I also figured out a trick to make assembling the card much easier: once I had filled the plastic cups with candies (peanut butter, mint, and chocolate m&ms), I punched a large circle out and covered up the contents. It's just large enough to 'catch' the edge of the container, which has adhesive on it. This makes lining up the card base, the front panel, and the container much easier!
Here's a close-up; isn't he a cheery little guy?
were abysmal! The table was cheap cheap...but there were no customers. None. As far as I could tell, at no time were there more potential customers than vendors in the building. The vast bulk of my sales were to other vendors and people I know, like my dear, sweet parents. Oh well, at least my Mama took this picture, so I have something to show for my efforts! And I got a nice, relaxing weekend before the start of school.
Mama helped me set up too, and had the idea of draping the banner...I really like it!
I also borrowed a smaller table and tucked it under the black draping...hence the unsightly fold lines!
I've never done anything like this. It's embarrassing to admit. I'm blushing as I type. No, it's not what you're thinking... I've decided to enter a Guest Designer Call! Whiff of Joy (Hauch der Freude) is a very popular stamp company whose stamps I adore. Together with Penny Black, they're the reason I've started collecting Copics. Katharina Frei, the owner, has put out a Guest Designer Call, and here's my submission! (By the way, if you'd like to enter, see her post here.)
I wanted to use at least one of my new stamps, and I finally settled on 'Fall Willow Catching Leaves'. I made a mask so I could layer her with the Fall Corner. I also used two of the sentiments from the Fall set. This is what resulted:
This kind of work is very dangerous; you end up making an "I need this immediately" list; mine includes ribbon in either shade of SU! Plum, more Cuttlebug folders, and several shades of Copics. Speaking of which, here are the markers I used:
(Click on the picture for a close up.)
Colouring this image to a fair while. I also stamped Willow and the fall corner on another sheet of paper (SU! Very Vanilla, by the way) so that I could try out different colour combinations. In one way the choices were fairly simple, since I was limited by what I have.
After colouring the images, I started to layer. And layer. And layer. I wanted the focus to be on the image, so there are hardly any embellishments at all (4 little brads from SU!s Hodgepodge Hardware, and some ribbon). I did run the Saffron layer through the Cuttlebug to add some interest.
That's my submission! If I have time I'd like to try making a non-card project with these stamps, but we'll see...this week is shaping up to be a doozy! Thanks for visiting!
These 3D flowers are so simple to assemble, yet absolutely gorgeous! Here's a step-by-step tutorial for you.
First, you need to assemble your scissors (some might like to 'neaten up' the image; I didn't find it necessary), awl, dimensional tape, and, of course, the images you'll be working with. If you have a lot more patience and artistry than me, you can purchase any image you like in multiples and cut out the pieces you want, but this product makes the process a lot less painful!
Gently remove the die-cut images from the surrounding waste paper. I like to take all of them out, but I'm careful to keep them in order. This is important!
Some of the pieces have inner sections that need to be removed. I find this is easiest with an awl. You could use a toothpick as well.
Here they are, all set out!
Place sections of dimensional tape (I get mine from the dollar store) on the back of the second image.
Carefully adhere to the first layer. I find it helps to lean over my work so that I get a good bird's-eye-view. Apply tape to other layers and continue adding layers to base. This particular one has up to 3 layers. You can click on the photos to view a close-up!
And there it is, the finished product! Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
List of items made:
- Christmas cards and tags
- regular cards
- large and small covered notebooks
- covered notepads
- stickie holders with matching pens
- gift tags
- notecard folders containing 4 notecards and 4 envelopes
- notecard boxes containing 4 cards and 4 envelopes
- 5"x7" cards
I'll follow the lead of another stamping blog I read recently and record the good, the bad, and the ugly of my craft fair experience.
THE GOOD:
- A ton of people stopped by to say hi. It was great to see all of you!
- Carla kept me company for two of the three days. Thanks Carla...I would have gone crazy without you!
- On the last day (of 3) I had the idea of selling my old stamps. I colour coded them at $2, $1, and $.50, and sold about half of them. Very pleased!
- The weather was gorgeous, and for the most part, not too hot.
- There were a lot of potential customers.
- I did make a profit. Not enough, but at least I didn't lose money!
THE BAD:
- I had a new spot this year, in the back corner. Unfortunately the lady beside me had a fairly substantial display, so mine was somewhat dwarfed!
- The concrete. I never knew how painful it can be to stand on concrete for hours at a time, even in Birkenstocks! The concrete just seeps up into your bones and aches! By the second day I had a stool (so I could sit but still be high enough to make eye-contact with customers) and rubber matting.
- Sales weren't so hot. I learned that if someone says "Oh, this is soooo beautiful!" they're not going to buy. :(
THE UGLY:- Unfortunately, there was a mix-up with some of the vendor placements, so some people were really cranky that first morning! Luckily, I was able to stay out of it for the most part. I'm just glad I'm not a vendor relations volunteer...they took a lot of flak that day!
THE CONCLUSION:I'm going to try this for one more year. I'm going to make some more cheapo items (the tags sold pretty well at 5/$1) and some more 'high end' items because if you sell just a few, it really pays off! I sold 3 Notecard boxes (you can find the tutorial for those here) at $10 each. For the work involved it was more than a fair price, but it didn't cost that much to make in terms of materials.
So, see you all next year! :)
In the stamping world, a CASE stands for 'copy and slightly alter' or 'copy and share everything'. Basically, if you are inspiried by someone else's work, copy it, and alter some of the elements, that's CASEing.
I found an absolutely gorgeous card over at Ilina Crause's blog. I knew I wanted to CASE it, so I used her basic layout design, the same stamp set, the same DSP, and the same colours. I changed the small panel, added a butterfly stamp, changed the size of the card to 5" x 7", changed the orientation of the card to portrait, and decorated the inside. I also added 3 word stickers to every card. (These are stamps from the 'Wonderful Words' set that I stamped on Whisper White, cut out, and attached double-sided tape to the back.) I left out the ribbon and the brads. Oh, and I changed the scallops too!
One thing I definitely wanted to keep the same was the rose arrangement. Flower arranging - either on paper on in real life - is not my forte, and I really like Ilina's work, so why mess with a good thing, right?
Here's the card that resulted: 
and the inside of said card:
The original tutorial for this box can be found at Valerie Stangle's awesome website...check it out! She's got a lot of other wonderful paper crafts to look at there!I decided to make my own for 3 reasons: I don't own a ScorePal, so the instructions were a bit confusing; I wanted to use 8-1/2" x 11" paper, not 12" x 12"; and I wanted to include a plastic insert to protect the contents.Remember, you can click on the pictures to view a larger version. I purposefully made most of the pictures in this tutorial rather small because it's so long.
Please let me know what you think! I'd love to see what other people come up with!To make the Notecard Box:You will need 1 sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" CS (I used Real Red) as well as some scrap CS and DSP.Here is a diagram of the score lines and pieces that get cut away. You might want to refer to it as the score lines don't show up very well in the photos.
1. With the shorter edge along the top of the trimmer, score an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of CS at 6/8". On my Fiskars cutter, it was simplest to line up the right edge of the paper with the 6/8" mark to the right of the blade.
2. Turn the paper around (so that the score line made in step 1 is to the left of the blade) and continue scoring at 1-6/8", 6-3/8", and 7-3/8". (Here's a good spot to try clicking on the picture; if you do, the score lines become more easily visible.)
3. Trim the CS at 8-1/8".
4. Turn the CS so the long edge abuts the top of the trimmer. Score at 6/8". (Again, it was simplest to line up the right edge of the paper with the 6/8" mark to the right of the blade.)
5. Turn the paper around and score at 1-6/8", 7-5/8", 8-5/8" and 10-1/8". You do not need to trim anything this time.
6. Cut out the areas that are grey in the diagram.
7. Cut slits and tabs as shown in the diagram.
8. Using a bone folder, fold all scored lines.
9. Apply adhesive to the tabs as shown. Glue down.
10. Turn over your CS so that all the folds look like mountains. Apply adhesive as shown by the yellow dots. Do NOT glue down yet.
11. Flip over your CS so that all the folds look like valleys. Apply adhesive as shown by the yellow lines.
12. Using the pictures as a guide, assemble box. I like to start with the simple end first: just line up the tabs and press, then fold down the flap.
Here's a close-up of the corner when the tab has been glued to the inside.
Now affix the other two tabs. It's important to use permanent adhesive for making the box. I used my ATG gun, and am really pleased with the results.
Glue down the long flaps. This leaves only the top of the box to glue down.
Glue down the top flap. Make sure the side tabs align nicely with the edges of the box.
13. Cut a scrap piece of CS (I used Kiwi Kiss) at 4-1/2" x 1-3/8". Cut a piece of DSP at 4-3/8" x 1-1/4". Punch out a large oval (I used Cameo Coral CS), a 1-1/4" circle (I used Real Red) and a 1" circle with a stamp (I used Cameo Coral ink and the fleur de lis from Lovely Letters Alphabet). Assemble.
Here's a close-up of the decoration. I used Raspberry Tart DSP (now retired) and popped up the Real Red circle with dimensionals.
To make the Clear Box Cover:
You will need 1 sheet of acetate.
1. Trim acetate to 7-3/4" x 6-3/8". Score each edge at 1". Crease folds with a bone folder.
2. Slice to create tabs.
3. Turn acetate over so that all folds look like mountains. Put adhesive on tabs. (It doesn't matter if it shows; this will be hidden in the final product.
4. Assemble box cover.
5. You can slide this cover inside your box. Sliding it out again is a bit trickier, but because the acetate is flexible without creasing, you don't have to worry about destroying it!
To make the Envelopes:
You will need 4 white envelopes.
1. If you need to, use a Stamp-a-ma-jig for positioning. I used Cameo Coral ink and the fleur de lis fromt he Lovely Letters Alphabet.
To make the Card:
You will need 2 sheets of 1 colour CS (I used Kiwi Kiss), 1 sheet of a second colour CS (I used Rose Red), and scraps of another few colours and DSP.1. Cut 4 card bases from your 2 sheets of CS. I used Kiwi Kiss for this step. With the long edge of your CS along the top of the trimmer, cut in half at 5-1/5". With the long edge of your card base along the top of the trimmer, score in half at 4-1/4". Use a bone folder for a sharp crease.
2. Cut 4 pieces of 5-1/4" x 4" from your second colour of CS. I used Rose Red for this step...my last sheet!
3. Cut 4 pieces of CS at 5-1/4" x 1-1/4". I used Kiwi Kiss here. Cut 4 pieces of DSP at 5-1/4" x 1". Stamp 4 fleur de lis with Cameo Coral ink on Whisper White CS. Punch out with 1" circle punch. Punch 4 1-1/4" circles out of Real Red CS, and 4 large ovals out of Cameo Coral CS. Assemble as shown.
6. Assemble card front as shown. I like to use the grid on my work surface to position and centre all the elements. Sometimes eyeballing just doesn't cut it!
To make the Card Inside:
You will need 4 pieces of 4" x 5-1/5" Whisper White CS, 8 pieces of 5-1/4" x 5/8" Real Red CS, and 8 pieces of 5-1/4" x 1/2" DSP.
1. Assemble as shown. Attach to inside of card.
To make the Stickers:I like to include stickers with my cards so that the people who buy them can choose a sentiment. They don't really cost anything extra to make (except for the adhesive) since I usually have enough scraps. Here I used the Oval All stamps and hand-coloured them with Real Red, Cameo Coral, Kiwi Kiss, and Rose Red markers.
1. Punch out the stamps with the small oval punch Layer on matching CS that has been punched out with the scalloped oval punch.
2. Cut strips of double-sided tape (leaving the protective coating on) and attach one strip to the back of each sticker. 
Put the stickers in a small zip-loc-type baggie (I bought mine at the dollar store in a package of 50 or so...what a deal!) to keep them together. 
To assemble:
Turn the clear box upside down. Put in the baggie first, then the cards (face down), then the envelopes. (The envelopes will be a tight fit. Gently ease them in.) Turn the clear box with its contents right side up and slide into CS box. You can be fairly firm. If you're worried about ruining anything, don't glue down the top flap in step 12. Use ribbon to hold the top flap closed once all the contents have been placed inside.
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial...let me know how it works for you, and if you have any suggestions for improvement. Thanks in advance!
I needed some quick gift ideas, so, inspired by Julia's framed gifts (check out her blog here), I came up with this idea. Very basically, it involves a Walmart frame, SU! papers and inks, and Cuttlebug letter dies. Oh, and a touch of Liquid Pearls.
These are what my piano students are getting for Christmas this year. At first I wanted to come up with something specifically musical, but in the end, I went for plain old wintery. All supplies are SU! except for the Santa paper piecing pattern (try saying that 10 times quickly!) found online (just do a search to find a myriad of them), and the glitter glue (Icicles). I used last year's retired Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, and Kiwi Kiss CS, as well as Ballet Blue (I think!) and Whisper White. I used Chocolate Chip for the base. Tearing and chalking the edges of the Whisper White CS to make snow easy and effective! The largest circle punch fits the candy holders perfectly. It all came together pretty quickly. To make punching through all those layers a little easier, I first punched the snowman (after completely assembling and chalking the edges), then glued him down and punched again, lining it up carefully.
As always, you can click on any picture to view a larger version.
I've never done anything like this. It's embarrassing to admit. I'm blushing as I type. No, it's not what you're thinking... I've decided to enter a Guest Designer Call! Whiff of Joy (Hauch der Freude) is a very popular stamp company whose stamps I adore. Together with Penny Black, they're the reason I've started collecting Copics. Katharina Frei, the owner, has put out a Guest Designer Call, and here's my submission! (By the way, if you'd like to enter, see her post here.)
This kind of work is very dangerous; you end up making an "I need this immediately" list; mine includes ribbon in either shade of SU! Plum, more Cuttlebug folders, and several shades of Copics. Speaking of which, here are the markers I used:
(Click on the picture for a close up.)
After colouring the images, I started to layer. And layer. And layer. I wanted the focus to be on the image, so there are hardly any embellishments at all (4 little brads from SU!s Hodgepodge Hardware, and some ribbon). I did run the Saffron layer through the Cuttlebug to add some interest.
That's my submission! If I have time I'd like to try making a non-card project with these stamps, but we'll see...this week is shaping up to be a doozy! Thanks for visiting!
This was a case of starting with an occasion (a toddler's birthday), finding a stamp set I thought he would enjoy (Boatloads of Love), and then letting everything else fall into place! I wanted to use my Copics, I wanted to use my white gel pen ( I really admire coloured images I've seen where the artist has highlighted with a gel pen; it makes the image so cheerful somehow!), and I wanted the card to work for a boy.
Then I cut out the images. Here's the part where I was a little stumped. I find it hard to ground these images because of the wavy bottom. Suddenly I remembered this tutorial over at Splitcoaststampers.com, and inspiration was born! I think this must be the easiest card (apart from a straightforward one) there is to make.
These 3D flowers are so simple to assemble, yet absolutely gorgeous! Here's a step-by-step tutorial for you.
Gently remove the die-cut images from the surrounding waste paper. I like to take all of them out, but I'm careful to keep them in order. This is important!
Some of the pieces have inner sections that need to be removed. I find this is easiest with an awl. You could use a toothpick as well.
Here they are, all set out!
Place sections of dimensional tape (I get mine from the dollar store) on the back of the second image.
Carefully adhere to the first layer. I find it helps to lean over my work so that I get a good bird's-eye-view. Apply tape to other layers and continue adding layers to base. This particular one has up to 3 layers. You can click on the photos to view a close-up!
And there it is, the finished product! Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
This is my first-ever 3D card! These are a ton of fun to make, and a lot easier than you'd think. The 3D pieces come pre-cut, so you just have to remove them (carefully!) from the surrounding waste paper and assemble with dimensional tape.
Remember, if you click on an image, it should re-appear much larger.
List of items made:
In the stamping world, a CASE stands for 'copy and slightly alter' or 'copy and share everything'. Basically, if you are inspiried by someone else's work, copy it, and alter some of the elements, that's CASEing.
and the inside of said card:
The original tutorial for this box can be found at Valerie Stangle's awesome website...check it out! She's got a lot of other wonderful paper crafts to look at there!
1. With the shorter edge along the top of the trimmer, score an 8-1/2" x 11" sheet of CS at 6/8". On my Fiskars cutter, it was simplest to line up the right edge of the paper with the 6/8" mark to the right of the blade.
2. Turn the paper around (so that the score line made in step 1 is to the left of the blade) and continue scoring at 1-6/8", 6-3/8", and 7-3/8". (Here's a good spot to try clicking on the picture; if you do, the score lines become more easily visible.)
3. Trim the CS at 8-1/8".
4. Turn the CS so the long edge abuts the top of the trimmer. Score at 6/8". (Again, it was simplest to line up the right edge of the paper with the 6/8" mark to the right of the blade.)
5. Turn the paper around and score at 1-6/8", 7-5/8", 8-5/8" and 10-1/8". You do not need to trim anything this time.
6. Cut out the areas that are grey in the diagram.
7. Cut slits and tabs as shown in the diagram.
8. Using a bone folder, fold all scored lines.
9. Apply adhesive to the tabs as shown. Glue down.
10. Turn over your CS so that all the folds look like mountains. Apply adhesive as shown by the yellow dots. Do NOT glue down yet.
11. Flip over your CS so that all the folds look like valleys. Apply adhesive as shown by the yellow lines.
12. Using the pictures as a guide, assemble box. I like to start with the simple end first: just line up the tabs and press, then fold down the flap.
Here's a close-up of the corner when the tab has been glued to the inside.
Now affix the other two tabs. It's important to use permanent adhesive for making the box. I used my ATG gun, and am really pleased with the results.
Glue down the long flaps. This leaves only the top of the box to glue down.
Glue down the top flap. Make sure the side tabs align nicely with the edges of the box.
13. Cut a scrap piece of CS (I used Kiwi Kiss) at 4-1/2" x 1-3/8". Cut a piece of DSP at 4-3/8" x 1-1/4". Punch out a large oval (I used Cameo Coral CS), a 1-1/4" circle (I used Real Red) and a 1" circle with a stamp (I used Cameo Coral ink and the fleur de lis from Lovely Letters Alphabet). Assemble.
Here's a close-up of the decoration. I used Raspberry Tart DSP (now retired) and popped up the Real Red circle with dimensionals.
3. Turn acetate over so that all folds look like mountains. Put adhesive on tabs. (It doesn't matter if it shows; this will be hidden in the final product.
4. Assemble box cover.
5. You can slide this cover inside your box. Sliding it out again is a bit trickier, but because the acetate is flexible without creasing, you don't have to worry about destroying it!
2. Cut 4 pieces of 5-1/4" x 4" from your second colour of CS. I used Rose Red for this step...my last sheet!
3. Cut 4 pieces of CS at 5-1/4" x 1-1/4". I used Kiwi Kiss here. Cut 4 pieces of DSP at 5-1/4" x 1". Stamp 4 fleur de lis with Cameo Coral ink on Whisper White CS. Punch out with 1" circle punch. Punch 4 1-1/4" circles out of Real Red CS, and 4 large ovals out of Cameo Coral CS. Assemble as shown.
6. Assemble card front as shown. I like to use the grid on my work surface to position and centre all the elements. Sometimes eyeballing just doesn't cut it!
2. Cut strips of double-sided tape (leaving the protective coating on) and attach one strip to the back of each sticker. 
Put the stickers in a small zip-loc-type baggie (I bought mine at the dollar store in a package of 50 or so...what a deal!) to keep them together. 
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial...let me know how it works for you, and if you have any suggestions for improvement. Thanks in advance!